Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Roundup use in common areas

[Stuart Pettygrove (gspettygrove]

No problem if you can obtain the cardboard and a way to tack it down. And
have the labor. I was thinking of the math. Approximately
3,000 sq ft= 0.07 acre
21,780 sq ft = 0.5 acre
130,680 sq ft = 3 acres
For 3,000 sq ft, you might need cardboard from 125 boxes, each 2 ft x 2ft x
2 ft, maybe 1 pickup truck load?
For 0.5 acres, multiply that by 7. Maybe doable. But 3 acres would seem
impractical for a volunteer coho community.
I've put cardboard on a small plot- 10 x 20 ft, but can't claim experience
on a larger area.

On Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 3:57 PM Joyce Cheney <jcheneyjc [at] gmail.com> wrote:

> *STUART*, , how, specifically, has cardboard/mulch ‘been impractical” for
> large areas? How large? I have used cardboard and free wood chips on 3000
> sq ft (prior private yard) and found that the only “problem” is that larger
> areas take more labor and materials, but as was pointed out, free cardboard
> (big boxes from appliance/furniture/bicycle shops) and free wood chips are
> easy to get(tree trimmers are glad to dump their whole big truck of chips
> at the end of day/week because they otherwise may have to pay to take it to
> the dump). Just ask the truck drivers. How has your experience differed?
> And *MARINA*, how big are the “very large” areas that you’ve cleared
> using cardboard? Can you shed any light on how your community has succeeded
> at “cardboard/mulch clearing” of large areas when others have not?
> Thank you,  Joyce Cheney,
> Casa Verde, Colorado Springs
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Oct 2, 2026, at 3:52 PM, Stuart Pettygrove via Cohousing-L <
> cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
>
> Cardboard is great. But it's impractical for more than a few hundred
> square
> feet. If you have half an acre or more, herbicide will very likely be part
> of the solution. Be sure to access the Cooperative Extension agents and
> specialists who may be able to provide methods for control of specific weed
> species.
>
> On Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 2:28 PM Marina King via Cohousing-L <
> cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
>
> Hi there Ceil:
>
> I am very sorry your community is considering Round-up. Skagit Commons has
>
> successfully used cardboard - very often a free resource - over very large
>
> areas. You can purchase landscape pins to hold it down. You cover it with
>
> as thick a layer of mulch as you can. The chips can be from the local
>
> arborist. It doesn't have to be fancy stuff from the Garden Store.
>
> Arborists will often deliver chips for free or almost free if you allow
>
> them to do a drop of a full truck load (as much as 35 yards!)
>
> We have used this strategy very successfully for several landscaping
>
> projects now. If you want to plant very soon after your application of
>
> cardboard & mulch, you simply need to brush the mulch aside enough to punch
>
> a hole in the cardboard, punch the hole, plant the plant, and replace the
>
> mulch around the base of the plant. If you wait through a season to do the
>
> planting, the cardboard will have deteriorated enough that it no longer is
>
> an issue as far as digging holes go.
>
> It is important to remove as much tape as possible from the cardboard,
>
> otherwise you have lengths of tape showing up in your new landscape.
>
> Good luck with your project!
>
> Regards,
>
> Marina King
>
> Landscape Circle lead
>
> Skagit Commons
>
>
> On Fri, Oct 2, 2026 at 7:45 AM Ceil Malek via Cohousing-L <
>
> cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
>
>
> Our community, Casa Verde Commons in Colorado Springs, is proposing to
>
> use
>
> Roundup extensively to kill old grass in preparation for planting native
>
> grass.  The intention is to cut down on water bills and prepare for
>
> coming
>
> climate change, which is admirable..
>
>
> Our landscape committee, which is proposing the project, advocates this
>
> use
>
> of Roundup t because it's time limited, but the chemical will be
>
> administered over a three-year period. Final decision will come from the
>
> board, not the community.
>
>
> I'm wondering what other communities have done.  Are there viable
>
> alternatives to using Roundup?  Do other communities have a model for
>
> changing to native grass that doesn't challenge the health of community
>
> members, especially the vulnerable ones. We have young children, older
>
> people with various health challenges, dogs, and cats whose exposure to
>
> the
>
> chemical Roundup may be especially problematic.
>
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Ceil Malek
>
> Casa Verde Commons
>
> Colorado Springs, CO
>
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